Article
Psychiatry
Ling Chen, Wan-Kun Gong, Cui-ping Yang, Chan-Chan Shao, Ning-Ning Song, Jia-Yin Chen, Li-Qiang Zhou, Kun-Shan Zhang, Siguang Li, Zhili Huang, Gal Richter-Levin, Lin Xu, Yu-Qiang Ding
Summary: The study suggests that PTEN may serve as an alternative approach for regulating 5-HT neuron activity in the brain and depressive behaviors, compared to selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) commonly used in depression treatment. Elevated levels of PTEN in 5-HT neurons can induce depressive behaviors in mice, while selective deletion of Pten leads to structural plasticity in these neurons.
TRANSLATIONAL PSYCHIATRY
(2021)
Article
Microbiology
Alexis Dereeper, Nina Allouch, Vincent Guerlais, Maelle Garnier, Laurence Ma, Johan F. F. De Jonckheere, Sandeep J. J. Joseph, Ibne Karim M. Ali, Antoine Talarmin, Isabel Marcelino
Summary: In this study, a high-quality Naegleria pangenome was constructed, revealing that Naegleria may use genome plasticity features to modulate their behavior in different environments. Comparing 14 near-to-complete genome sequences, it was estimated that the Naegleria pangenome consists of 13,943 genes, including 3,563 core and 10,380 accessory genes. Functional annotations showed that a large fraction of Naegleria genes have significant sequence similarity with those in other kingdoms. Comparative analyses showed remarkable genomic heterogeneity in Naegleria, even among closely related strains, indicating extensive genome variability.
FRONTIERS IN MICROBIOLOGY
(2023)
Review
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Boojhana Elango, C. P. Shirley, Gunadhor Singh Okram, Thiyagarajan Ramesh, Kamala-Kannan Seralathan, Maghimaa Mathanmohun
Summary: Recent efforts have been made to expand the use of sustainable and commercial primal matters, which is important for understanding their hazards and noxiousness to humans and the environment. Polysaccharide materials, such as cellulose, starch, chitosan, and chitin, are widely utilized in various fields due to their degradability, nontoxicity, and biocompatibility. This review discusses the synthesis and novel applications of these carbohydrate polymers in industrial, environmental, and biomedical sciences.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF BIOLOGICAL MACROMOLECULES
(2023)
Article
Oncology
Feng He, Fenglin Zhang, Yi Liao, Moon-shong Tang, Xue-Ru Wu
Summary: Muscle-invasive bladder cancer (MIBC) exhibits strong inter- and intra-tumor heterogeneity and mutations in RTK-RAS-PI3K and P19-P53-P21 pathways are commonly observed. This study shows that deficiencies of both PTEN and P53 are responsible for driving the basal/squamous subtype MIBC. PTEN is inactivated by hyperphosphorylation of the C-terminus and this modification may serve as a biomarker for subtyping MIBC and predicting tumor progression. Tailless PTEN is a potential molecular therapeutic for accessible tumors like bladder cancer.
Article
Genetics & Heredity
Bingxin Zhao, Tengfei Li, Stephen M. Smith, Di Xiong, Xifeng Wang, Yue Yang, Tianyou Luo, Ziliang Zhu, Yue Shan, Nana Matoba, Quan Sun, Yuchen Yang, Mads E. Hauberg, Jaroslav Bendl, John F. Fullard, Panagiotis Roussos, Weili Lin, Yun Li, Jason L. Stein, Hongtu Zhu
Summary: Association analyses using resting-state functional magnetic resonance images have identified common genetic variants influencing intrinsic brain activity. These variants are correlated with neuropsychiatric traits and disorders, providing insights into the genetic architecture of brain functional networks and their links to brain-related complex traits and disorders.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Bin Wan, Seok-Jun Hong, Richard A. I. Bethlehem, Dorothea L. Floris, Boris C. Bernhardt, Sofie L. Valk
Summary: Autism is a neurodevelopmental condition characterized by atypical sensory-perceptual functions, language deficits, and socio-cognitive impairments. Previous research has shown that individuals with autism exhibit subtle alterations in brain structure asymmetry and reduced functional activation laterality compared to non-autistic individuals. However, whether these functional asymmetries reflect altered intrinsic systematic organization in autism is still unclear.
MOLECULAR PSYCHIATRY
(2023)
Review
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Stefanie Maurer, Matthew Harms, Jeremie Boucher
Summary: Understanding the conversion of brown and brite adipocytes is crucial for improving metabolic disorders, and identifying novel browning agents is necessary before this adipocyte transdifferentiation can be realized as a safe and efficacious therapy in humans.
Review
Behavioral Sciences
Benjamin L. Thompson, Marlene Oscar-Berman, Gary B. Kaplan
Summary: Opioid Use Disorder (OUD) is a chronic condition with significant morbidity and mortality even with treatment. Neuroplasticity plays a key role in OUD development, with alterations in dopaminergic and glutamatergic pathways potentially leading to behavioral symptoms.
NEUROSCIENCE AND BIOBEHAVIORAL REVIEWS
(2021)
Article
Neurosciences
Simon Leipold, Carina Klein, Lutz Jancke
Summary: A comprehensive assessment of the effects of musicianship and absolute pitch on intrinsic functional and structural connectivity showed robust effects of musicianship on brain networks, while the effects of absolute pitch appeared to be more subtle. Long-term musical training is associated with significant changes in large-scale brain networks.
JOURNAL OF NEUROSCIENCE
(2021)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Maroua Ben Amira, Mohamed Faize, Magnus Karlsson, Mukesh Dubey, Magdalena Frac, Jacek Panek, Boris Fumanal, Aurelie Gousset-Dupont, Jean-Louis Julien, Hatem Chaar, Daniel Auguin, Robin Mom, Philippe Label, Jean-Stephane Venisse
Summary: The study focuses on the diversity and structure of the fungal uncharacterized X-Intrinsic Protein (XIP) subfamily in Trichoderma atroviride, exploring their roles in development, biomass accumulation, and mycoparasitic activities. The research sheds light on the function of the XIP subfamily and their impact on the physiological integrity of the fungus.
Article
Radiology, Nuclear Medicine & Medical Imaging
Dongming Liu, Jiu Chen, Honglin Ge, Zhen Yan, Bei Luo, Xinhua Hu, Kun Yang, Yong Liu, Chaoyong Xiao, Wenbin Zhang, Hongyi Liu
Summary: The study aims to characterize the structural plasticity of the contralesional hippocampus and its subfields in patients with unilateral glioma. The results showed significantly larger gray matter volume in the contralesional hippocampus and parahippocampal regions, while no significant alterations were found in control regions. The volumetric analyses also revealed similar trends in the contralesional hippocampal subregions for both patient groups.
EUROPEAN RADIOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Engineering, Multidisciplinary
Ying Lin, Junji Ma, Bingjing Huang, Jinbo Zhang, Yining Zhang, Zhengjia Dai
Summary: The study proposes a novel approach to predict functional connectivity strength in the human brain based on geometric and topological features of structural connectivity, showing that geometric features are more predictive than topological features. Indirect structural paths play a crucial role in inducing functional connectivity, especially between disconnected and/or distanced regions.
IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON NETWORK SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING
(2021)
Article
Cell Biology
Yongchuan Zhu, Marco Uytiepo, Eric Bushong, Matthias Haberl, Elizabeth Beutter, Frederieke Scheiwe, Weiheng Zhang, Lyanne Chang, Danielle Luu, Brandon Chui, Mark Ellisman, Anton Maximov
Summary: The study shows that experience is not necessary for the development of synaptic morphology and the arrangement of different connections in local networks is stochastic. Loss of activity increases the variability in synaptic structure size, but does not disrupt their alignment. These results demonstrate that mechanisms for the structural diversity of neuronal synapses are intrinsic.
Article
Clinical Neurology
Yuanyuan Li, Yue Li, Qiang Wei, Tongjian Bai, Kai Wang, Jiaojian Wang, Yanghua Tian
Summary: This study investigated the impact of electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) on the whole-brain functional network topological architecture in individuals with major depressive disorder (MDD). The results showed that ECT can improve depressive symptoms by reorganizing the disrupted network topological architecture in MDD patients, with alterations primarily observed in the default mode network (DMN), frontoparietal network (FPN), and limbic system.
JOURNAL OF AFFECTIVE DISORDERS
(2022)
Article
Behavioral Sciences
Petr Sojka, Matej Slovak, Gabriela Vechetova, Robert Jech, David L. Perez, Tereza Serranova
Summary: This study investigates the gray matter volumetric profiles in functional movement disorder (FMD) and their relationship with resting-state functional connectivity (rsFC) profiles. The study finds that FMD is a multinetwork disorder and symptom severity-related structural alterations are mapped onto multiple brain regions, with an important role for the temporoparietal junction and its related connectivity.
BRAIN AND BEHAVIOR
(2022)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Fatma Elrashdy, Abdullah A. Aljaddawi, Elrashdy M. Redwan, Vladimir N. Uversky
Summary: The relapse of COVID-19 infection may be due to a cellular transport pathway associated with the release of SARS-CoV-2-loaded exosomes and other extracellular vesicles, which could explain the reappearance of viral RNA in recovered patients after discharge.
JOURNAL OF BIOMOLECULAR STRUCTURE & DYNAMICS
(2021)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Robert Hedlund, Trude K. Diamond, Vladimir N. Uversky
Summary: The Latitude Hypothesis suggests that vitamin D adequacy in the general population may play a role in seasonal variation of flu and influenza-like illnesses, including SARS-CoV-2. By analyzing statistics of two sub-populations, a possible treatment method to improve outcomes is proposed.
JOURNAL OF BIOMOLECULAR STRUCTURE & DYNAMICS
(2021)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Eduard Y. Kostetsky, Vladimir N. Uversky
Summary: This study discusses the formation of the matrix mechanism in protocells, focusing on the involvement of mineral complexes and gas phase radicals. The structures of apatite and carbonate-apatite play a role in determining the formation of DNA and RNA, while organic matter gradually replaces the mineral matrix. The study provides a detailed description of the preparation and launch of the matrix mechanism, as well as discussing several related issues.
JOURNAL OF BIOMOLECULAR STRUCTURE & DYNAMICS
(2022)
Letter
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Vladimir N. Uversky, Fatma Elrashdy, Abdullah Aljadawi, Elrashdy M. Redwan
JOURNAL OF BIOMOLECULAR STRUCTURE & DYNAMICS
(2022)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Zhihua Du, Xiangdong Xiao, Vladimir N. Uversky
Summary: In this article, the authors propose a new deep learning method called DeepA-RBPBS for predicting the binding site of RNA-binding proteins (RBP) using RNA sequences and structural features. The performance of DeepA-RBPBS is found to be better than the state-of-the-art predictor iDeepS in terms of MCC and AUC scores. The method is also successfully applied to predict target RNA data of RBPs related to diabetes.
JOURNAL OF BIOMOLECULAR STRUCTURE & DYNAMICS
(2022)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Gerard Kian-Meng Goh, Vladimir N. Uversky
Summary: This article discusses the significant impact of intrinsic disorder in the outer shell of HIV on vaccine development and proposes a new model for vaccine design. Traditional viruses typically do not have high levels of intrinsic disorder in their outer shells, allowing for successful establishment of effective vaccines.
JOURNAL OF BIOMOLECULAR STRUCTURE & DYNAMICS
(2022)
Article
Biophysics
Marco Schiavina, Letizia Pontoriero, Vladimir N. Uversky, Isabella C. Felli, Roberta Pierattelli
Summary: The study focuses on the nucleocapsid protein N from SARS-CoV-2, specifically the 1-248 construct, and reports the sequence-specific assignment of two disordered regions within this protein. This is a significant step towards the complete characterization of the protein.
BIOMOLECULAR NMR ASSIGNMENTS
(2021)
Article
Cell Biology
Shweta Kishor Sonawane, Vladimir N. Uversky, Subashchandrabose Chinnathambi
Summary: The study demonstrated the potential neuroprotective effect of Baicalein in inhibiting aggregation of human Tau protein, dissolving pre-formed fibrils, and being non-toxic to neuronal cells. Baicalein could be considered a lead molecule in combating Tau pathology in Alzheimer's disease.
CELL COMMUNICATION AND SIGNALING
(2021)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Denzelle Lee Lyngdoh, Niharika Nag, Vladimir N. Uversky, Timir Tripathi
Summary: The nuclear pores composed of nucleoporins play critical roles in the nuclear-cytoplasmic transport of biomolecules. The high level of intrinsically disordered regions (IDPRs) in FG-Nups allows them to bind multiple protein partners and undergo liquid-to-liquid phase separation. This structural flexibility in FG-Nups is advantageous and can be exploited for drug design, especially in diseases associated with protein misfolding and aggregation.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF BIOLOGICAL MACROMOLECULES
(2021)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Emilio Gutierrez-Beltran, Pernilla H. Elander, Kerstin Dalman, Guy W. Dayhoff, Panagiotis N. Moschou, Vladimir N. Uversky, Jose L. Crespo, Peter Bozhkov
Summary: TSN acts as a scaffold for stress granule proteins in plants, playing an important role in stress signaling and promoting the activation of SnRK1.
Article
Environmental Sciences
Sk Sarif Hassan, Pallab Basu, Elrashdy M. Redwan, Kenneth Lundstrom, Pabitra Pal Choudhury, Angel Serrano-Aroca, Gajendra Kumar Azad, Alaa A. A. Aljabali, Giorgio Palu, Tarek Mohamed Abd El-Aziz, Debmalya Barh, Bruce D. Uhal, Parise Adadi, Kazuo Takayama, Nicolas G. Bazan, Murtaza Tambuwala, Amos Lal, Gaurav Chauhan, Wagner Baetas-da-Cruz, Samendra P. Sherchan, Vladimir N. Uversky
Summary: This study tracked the emergence of mutations in SARS-CoV-2 proteins globally and in six model countries, revealing that since October 2020, frequent mutations have been observed mainly in ORF7b and ORF8. Interestingly, no high-frequency mutations were found in the UK, India, and Brazil, which does not correlate with the virus's transmission in these countries.
ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH
(2022)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Faisal Nabi, Owais Ahmad, Yawar Ali Khan, Anas Nabi, Hashmi Md Amiruddin, Faizan Abul Qais, Aiman Masroor, Malik Hisamuddin, Vladimir N. Uversky, Rizwan Hasan Khan
Summary: The study screened FDA-approved drugs against SARS-CoV-2 proteins and found potential interactions with anticancer, antipsychotic, and antiviral drugs. Molecular dynamics simulations revealed protein evolution upon drug interaction, and a phylogenetic analysis was conducted on 43 coronavirus strains infecting 12 mammalian species.
JOURNAL OF BIOMOLECULAR STRUCTURE & DYNAMICS
(2022)
Review
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Liberato Marzullo, Maria C. Turco, Vladimir N. Uversky
Summary: The Bcl-2 associated athanogene (BAG) family of proteins in humans exhibit exceptional multifunctionality and binding promiscuity, playing a role in the pathogenesis of various diseases. The presence of multiple isoforms and extensive posttranslational modifications can be explained through the concept of intrinsic disorder, which allows for a broad spectrum of interactions with diverse binding partners. Understanding the functional roles of BAG proteins from a perspective of protein intrinsic disorder provides insights into their multifunctionality and relation to disease pathogenesis.
JOURNAL OF CELLULAR BIOCHEMISTRY
(2022)
Review
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Oyku Irem Balli, Vladimir N. Uversky, Serdar Durdagi, Orkid Coskuner-Weber
Summary: Experimenters face challenges in analyzing glycoproteins due to their structural complexity, but computational studies have been used to complement experimental results. However, recent investigations have shown that computational studies also have significant challenges. Future developments in computational biochemistry and biology are necessary to provide more accurate analyses of glycoprotein structures.
PROTEINS-STRUCTURE FUNCTION AND BIOINFORMATICS
(2022)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Semen Nesterov, Nikolay S. Ilyinsky, Vladimir N. Uversky
Summary: This work delves into the phenomenon of liquid-liquid phase separation in living cells, highlighting its role in organizing cellular structures and functions in different dimensions, such as promoting signaling transduction, enhancing metabolic efficiency, and modulating stress responses.
BIOCHIMICA ET BIOPHYSICA ACTA-MOLECULAR CELL RESEARCH
(2021)